The sweep that saved the season?

Posted by | June 07, 2007 at 11:50 PM

That's what everyone wants to know, right? Did the Phillies turn a corner with their three-game sweep of the Mets?

The answer will come over the next few weeks. How the Phillies respond to their momentum-gathering sweep of the first-place Mets, which trimmed their deficit from eight games to five in the NL East, will mean just as much as the sweep.

Suffice it to say that the Phillies produced a huge series in New York. They received outstanding pitching, with all three of their starters delivering quality starts. The bullpen was brilliant, throwing 10 shutout innings in tight games. And the offense was clutch, winning two games in extra innings and another when they were down to seven outs.

Now the Phillies have to win their series in Kansas City. They cannot play poorly over the next three days, or their momentum will be wasted. Remember what happened after they swept Atlanta? They came home and produced the 2-5 homestand that preceded their sweep of the Mets. A similar follow-up performance would only affirm the widely-held belief that the Phillies are talented but maddeningly inconsistent.

Now, onto some nuggets from Thursday's 6-3, 10-inning victory:

* Rookie Mike Zagurski earned his first major league win with a scoreless ninth inning. He was in danger of losing the game, but he struck out Ben Johnson to end the inning with runners on first and second.

* The Phillies' three-game sweep was their first against the Mets since Sept. 10-12, 2004, at Shea. The Mets hadn't been swept at Shea at all since Sept. 13-15, 2005.

* Shane Victorino recorded his 15th straight stolen base when he swiped second in the sixth inning.